 |
 |
 |
|
| March
31, 2007 |
Rovers
delay naming cup final side |
 |
Rovers
manager Sean O'Drsicoll is yet to decide on who will be in the side for
tomorrow's Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final against Bristol Rovers, only
a little over 24 hours before the big game. He has delayed his selection
to give Paul Heffernan, Jason Price, James Coppinger and Gareth Roberts
as much time as possible to recover from injuries. He is likely to tell
the players who is in the starting eleven later today. "I would have liked to have picked the team yesterday. That would have settled everybody down and give me the chance to work with the 16 players more intensively," said O'Driscoll. "But in order to give everybody the best possible chance of being fit I've left it a day or so. If I am in a position to pick the team today I will do, but more likely it will be tomorrow." All four trained this week, with Price being the biggest doubt. |
| March
31, 2007 |
Players
set off |
 |
The
playing squad set off for Cardiff yesterday afternoon around 2.30pm following
a training session in the morning. The Rovers squad will be training in
Cardiff today, as well as making a visit to the Millennium Stadium in
advance of tomorrow's match. |
| March
31, 2007 |
Cardiff
Final programme |
| |
The
club shop at the Keepmoat Stadium quickly sold out of copies of the programme
for tomorrow's match, meaning that thousands of Rovers fans will have
to buy one in Cardiff when they go down for the match. A stock of only
250 was ordered, which were snapped up within minutes of going on sale. |
| March
31, 2007 |
Coaches
to Cardiff |
| |
The Supporters Club
have confirmed that they will be taking down at least 45 coaches to
Cardiff for Sunday's Johnstone's Paint Trophy final. With the independently
organised coaches they are aware of, the total number of coaches will
be approaching 80. With those going on other weekend packages, approaching
20,000 Rovers fans should be packing into the Millennium Stadium. |
| March
31, 2007 |
Barker's
goal keeps the Pools' record going |
 |
Two
goals from former Rovers striker Richie Barker sent League Two leaders
Hartlepool United on the way to a convincing 3-0 win over Chester City,
who were reduced to ten men 20 minutes from the end when skipper Phil
Bolland sent off for a second bookable offence. Barker's first goal came
after just three minutes with a looping header, with his second arriving
in the 26th minute. The win makes it 23 games unbeaten for Pools, which extends their lead at the top of League Two to eight points - 22 points ahead of 8th placed Wycombe, meaning that even if they lose all of their remaining matches, a play-off place is now assured. |
| March
30, 2007 |
Ticket
news update |
| |
Almost
19,000 Rovers fans will be travelling down to Cardiff for Sunday's game
at the Millennium Stadium. The ticket office at the Keepmoat Stadium will
be open until 7pm this evening - they were reporting 18,681 tickets sold
up to yesterday. It looks as though the attendance at Sunday's Johnstone's Paint Trophy final will break all records for the competition, with around 60,000 expected to attend. The previous record attendance for the final is 50,913, which attended the Bristol City v Carlisle United final in April 2003. |
| March
30, 2007 |
Injury
news update - Heffernan set for final! |
 |
Leading
scorer Paul Heffernan looks likely to make a return to the Doncaster Rovers
side for Sunday's game against Bristol Rovers. He has been absent since
damaging ankle ligaments in the home game against Port Vale in February,
but the hints from the Rovers camp suggest he has won his battle to be
fit for the biggest game in Rovers' history. Whilst Rovers will monitor
Heffernan's recovery, as long as he doesn't suffer any adverse reaction
from training this week, he is likely to play. Only Jason Price and James
Coppinger will face late fitness tests ahead of the match - Price looks
particularly doubtful, with Sean O'Driscoll commenting: "Jason is
still struggling a bit and the return to full training might be a bit
of a jump for him." However, O'Driscoll warned: ""I don't want to be having to make substitutions tenminutes into the game. It could be a problem if you brought in three or four players after injury who did not play in the last match. It's very difficult because this is a one-off game and everybody wants to play. But we have to be sensible and, if people are not fit enough, then they won't play." |
| March
30, 2007 |
Scott
on the mark - Hume sees red! |
 |
Former
Rovers defender Scott Maxfield's goal for Stalybridge Celtic wasn't enough
to save his side from defeat on Saturday. His penalty on the hour mark,
which saw Hucknall reduced to ten men, pulled a goal back after goals
for Hucknall in the 36th and 44th minutes. Stalybridge's man advantage
didn't last long - former Rovers defender Mark Hume, who had already received
a needless yellow card for dissent, was shown a second yellow card for
a foul, and was sent off. |
| March
29, 2007 |
Coaches
to Cardiff |
| |
The Supporters Club
have confirmed that they will be taking down at least 45 coaches to
Cardiff for Sunday's Johnstone's Paint Trophy final. With the independently
organised coaches they are aware of, the total number of coaches will
be approaching 80. With those going on other weekend packages, approaching
20,000 Rovers fans should be packing into the Millennium Stadium. |
| March
29, 2007 |
Falana
strikes again |
 |
The
veteran ex-Rovers striker Wade Falana scored Beckenham's second goal on
Saturday in their home game against Croydon, which made the score 2-2
- but a late goal for Croydon proved to be the winner. Falana played for Rovers twice during the 1992/93 season, with most of his other 20+ clubs being at non-league level in the south-east of England. |
| March
29, 2007 |
Boss
watches Nelthorpe |
 |
Rovers
manager Sean O'Driscoll travelled up to the International Stadium, Gateshead
on Monday evening to watch Roves winger Craig Nelthorpe in action for
Gateshead in their match against AFC Telford. Nelthorpe did his chances
of continuing to be involved at Rovers no harm at all by scoring the winning
goal in the 75th minute against Telford, who had tried to sign him earlier
in the week. Nelthorpe said: "It was great to score the winner and we showed a lot of character to bounce back after Telford scored twice to make it 3-3. It was ironic I grabbed the final goal as I could have been playing for Telford, but Doncaster have a good relationship with Gateshead and I have enjoyed my time here." |
| March
28, 2007 |
Heffernan
back in training |
| |
Doncaster
Rovers' prospects for success in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final in
Cardiff on Sunday have received a boost with news that leading scorer
Paul Heffernan has resumed full training this week. Despite it only being
five weeks between the day he suffered the ankle ligament injury and the
date at Cardiff, Paul has made a good recovery, and resumed non-contact
training last week. Heffernan said: "I always knew that it would be a race against time to make the final because I was told at the time I injured my ankle that I would probably be out for six weeks and it was only five weeks to Cardiff. But my rehab has gone well and I have done everthing that has been asked of me – such as running and kicking a ball – and there have been no problems. It still feels a bit weak but I am working on the weights and I've got another five days yet."I am desperate to play in the final having scored in every round except the first. Hopefully, I will suffer no reaction to my first full session and I can continue to train for the rest of the week and build up my fitness." "If that happens then it would be down to the manager whether he picked me or not. I've not played for five weeks so it might be a bit of a gamble." |
| March
3, 2007 |
Injury
news update |
 |
As
well as the welcome news that Paul Heffernan has resumed training this
week, Rovers have confirmed that Jason Price and James Coppinger have
also resumed training and should be available for Sunday's game against
Bristol Rovers. The only layers definitely ruled out of the game are Ben
Smith (knee), Steve Roberts (ankle), Kevin Horlock (knee) and Mark McCammon
(shoulder). All loan players currently at the club, Neil Sullivan, Harry
Worley, Jonathan Forte and Danny Cadamarteri are available for selection,
so for the first time in several weeks, there is the prospect of Rovers
naming a near-full strength side for the biggest match of the season. |
| March
3, 2007 |
Young
Rovers duo head for Sutton |
 |
Two
members of the youth team, Craig Sutton and Gerard Alonso, have signed
for Sutton Town. Both featured in last weekend's 4-1 victory over Armthorpe
Welfare, with Craig Sutton proving the catalyst for the "Snipes"
after coming off the substitutes' bench on the hour mark. Ex-Rovers midfielder
Jason Blunt is Sutton's player/manager. |
| March
28, 2007 |
JPT
ticket news |
| |
To
avoid the possibility of tickets not arriving in time, no further tickets
for Sunday's match at the Millennium Stadium will be posted out and all
tickets must be collected from the Keepmoat Stadium.. However, the ticket
office will be remaining open until 7pm on Thursday and Friday this week
for the sale of tickets for the final, and until 4.30pm today. Rovers fans have now bought over 18,000 tickets, and with sales continuing during the week, most of the 21,000 allocation are expected to be sold by match day. There are only a limited number of the £44 tickets in blocks M5 to M7, with very few available with more than one seat together. Apart from that, tickets are available at £20 in blocks O10 and U1 to U8, and tickets costing £28 in blocks U1 to U3. |
| March
28, 2007 |
Free
Press Cardiff special |
 |
The
Doncaster Free Press are producing a 16-page "Cardiff special"
ahead of Sunday's big match in Cardiff. The 'special edition' goes on
sale at newsagents today, priced at £1, with full coverage of the
day itself appearing in next week's regular issue of the Free Press. |
| March
28, 2007 |
Marples
to miss rest of season |
 |
Former
Doncaster Rovers defender Simon Marples looks set to miss the rest of
the season after breaking a toe in a freak training accident. If the bone
heals quickly, there is an outside chance of him being fit for the last
couple of matches of the season. |
| March
27, 2007 |
Rovers
plan for next season |
| |
Whilst
not actually conceding that Rovers have given up on their hopes of reaching
the play-offs, Sean O'Driscoll has confirmed that the remaining matches
of the season will be used to plan ahead for next season. Rovers' defeat
to Bristol City on Saturday leaves them seven points behind sixth placed
Blackpool, who also have two games in hand. It would take a remarkable
set of results for Rovers to make up that deficit, whilst still hoping
for the teams above them to drop enough points to allow Rovers to climb
high enough to reach sixth. The Rovers boss stressed that the remaining games are still important to the club, saying: "It doesn't mean the rest of the season is not important. You might as well pack it in and go home if you feel that way. The games play great significance in regard to what we do in the future." |
| March
27, 2007 |
Trophy
Final programmes |
.jpg){kind=small} |
Programmes
for Sunday's Johnstones' Paint Trophy final will be on sale ahead of the
match, with stocks being expected in the club shops on Friday. Copies
will cost £5, and we understand that there are 90 A4 pages in the
issue. |
| March
27, 2007 |
Nelly
grabs the winner |
| |
Rovers
winger Craig Nelthorpe scored the winning goal for Gateshead last night
in their thrilling 4-3 victory over leaders AFC Telford at the International
Stadium. Nelthorpe, who is on non-contract forms at Rovers, rejected a
move to Telford over the weekend, and punished his would-be suitors with
a looping shot over the goakeeper to enable the home side to take the
points, which lifts them up to tenth place in the UniBond Premier Division,
giving them an outside chance of reaching the end of season play-offs. Also taking part in the match was Rovers youth team striker Luke Bythway, who, along with Nelthorpe, received a late booking. |
| March
27, 2007 |
Voting
results |
 |
Midfielder
Brian Stock was the clear winner of the "Man of the Match" voting
for Saturday's home game against Bristol City, receiving over half of
all votes cast. A total of eight players received nominations, with the
players receiving most votes being: 1 Brian Stock (51.35%) 2 Danny Cademarteri (20.27%) 3 Sean Thornton (12.16%) Thank you to the many people who took part - all votes will go forward to the "Player of the season" vote which will be revealed shortly after the end of the season. At the moment, despite the high number of votes received during the season, remarkably only one vote separates the top two players. As a clue, neither was in the side on Saturday! |
| March
26, 2007 |
Injury
update |
| |
Mark
McCammon will miss the rest of the season following surgery on his shoulder
last week. During the operation it was found that whilst dislocating his
shoulder in the game at Nottingham Forest, he tore a muscle, which will
take two to three months to heal. Better news comes in the form of injured strikers Paul Heffernan, James Coppinger and Jason Price. Coppinger has an ongoing hernia problem, but Sean O'Driscoll is not worried about his availability for the rest of the season, so he should be fit for next weekend's match at the Millennium Stadium. Paul Heffernan and Jason Price look set to resume training this week - Heffernan looks the most likely of the two to be fit for Saturday, which will be great news for the army of Rovers fans heading down to South Wales on Sunday morning. Jason Price is hoping to be fit for the final, but is still experiencing some discomfort with his injured Achilles. |
| March
26, 2007 |
Nelthorpe
to stay at Gateshead |
| |
Rovers
winger Craig Nelthorpe has turned down a 'lucrative offer' from AFC Telford
United in order to stay at Gateshead, and he will be in Gateshead's side
to face Telford this evening. Nelthorpe is only on non-contract forms
at Rovers, which is why he has able to turn out for both Rovers and Gateshead
in recent weeks. Gateshead chairman Graham Wood said: "Nelthorpe's future is up in the air at the moment, but he's enjoyed his time at Gateshead and I'm hopeful he'll continue to play for us." |
| March
26, 2007 |
Chris
on target as Diamonds lift the cup |
 |
Former
Doncaster Rovers striker Chris Beardsley scored a hat-trick as Rushden
& Diamonds cruised to victory in the NFA Senior Cup last week against
Woodford United. Rushden, are ten matches unbeaten in the Conference,
fielded a young side, with only ex-Rover Mark Albrighton, Dave Savage
and Beardsley named from their senior squad, but they were still too much
for Woodford. Four of Rushden's five goals came in the first half-hour
of the match, with Beardsley's hat-trick completed in the 68th minute. |
| March
24, 2007 |
Rovers
0 Bristol City 1 |
 |
Bristol
City kept up their pressure on leaders Scunthorpe by winning at the Keepmoat
Stadium this afternoon, eventually breaking down Rovers in the 88th minute,
when Jamie McCombe headed home from Lee Johnson free kick. For Rovers,
statistically it rules out automatic promotion - and realistically their
chances of reaching the play-offs are all but dead, being seven points
behind sixth placed Blackpool, having played two games more. Rovers put
in a far better performance than in their last home game, but still struggled
to seriously test goalkeeper Adriano Basso - the dearth of goals shows
how much they have been relying on the predatory instincts of Jason Price
and Paul Heffernan, and with neither again available, it fell to Bruce
Dyer and Danny Cadermarteri to lead the line for Rovers. |
| March
25, 2007 |
Goals
review |
 |
With
various international fixtures forcing the postponement of many fixtures
this weekend, the review of former Rovers players scoring goals is rather
short. Ben Muirhead scored twice in Rochdale's stunning 7-2 victory at Stockport, with the win taking them up to the dizzy heights of 15th in League Two. Ben has recently extended his loan at Rochdale for the rest of the season. He is proving to be somewhat of a talismanic figure for Dale - they haven't lost when he's played for them! Ex-Rovers striker Neil Grayson may be 42 years old, but he still hasn't lost the knack of scoring goals. He added another two to his season's tally yesterday, scoring for Stafford Rangers in their 4-2 at home to Grays Athletic in the Conference National. |
| March
25, 2007 |
Youth
team 2 Bradford City 3 |
 |
The
Rovers' youth team lost 3-2 at home to Bradford City yesterday. No further
details are yet available. |
| March
25, 2007 |
Mark
gives a hand |
 |
Former
Rovers striker Mark Harbottle has returned to UniBond Premier League strugglers
Grantham Town as assistant manager - one of a long list of clubs he has
played for. Harbottle has been helping his brother at Central Midlands
League club Dunkirk this season, and has turned out for them on 24 occasions,
scoring two goals from a midfield role. Mark has registered as a player
for the Gingerbreads, but he is not expected to play except in an emergency
situation. |
| March
24, 2007 |
Jimmy
Wallace |
 |
We
regret to have to inform you that former Rovers winger Jimmy Wallace has
died after a long illness. He was 69 years old, and has been involved
in management in the Staffordshire area for many years, most recently
with Newcastle Town, who play in the North West Counties League. He was
one of the most successful managers in Newcastle's history, with the side
being runners up on two occasions, along with appearances in the Staffordshire
Senior Cup, along with a memorable run in the FA Vase which saw them reach
the semi-finals. He made 14 appearances for Doncaster Rovers in the 1962/63 season, having arrived at Belle Vue from Northwich Victoria. The only other Football League club he played for was Stoke City, for whom he made 8 appearances in the 1950's. We wish to extend our sympathies to his family at this sad time. |
| March
24, 2007 |
Rovers
v Bristol City |
 |
Striker
Jason Price is expected to return to the Rovers side for this afternoon's
home game against Bristol City, who currently occupy one of the automatic
promotion places. We hope that his return will give a boost to a goal-shy
Rovers, with his goal against Port Vale on 24th February being the last
goal to be scored by a Rovers striker - the only other two goals scored
since that date have come from midfielder Brian Stock. Paul Heffernan will continue to be absent as he recovers from an ankle ligament injury, but he is expected to be fit in time for next weekend. Gareth Roberts made a successful return to action on Wednesday after recovering from a hamstring injury, and suffered no adverse reaction, and will be named in today's squad. Defender Harry Worley will also be in the squad after extending his loan stay at Rovers until the end of the season. Bristol City arrive at the Keepmoat Stadium having won their last four games and will be heartened by news that Steve Brooker, Phil Jevons, David Noble and Richard Keogh are likely to return to their squad today. Brooker has recovered from a knee injury and played half of their reserve team game this week, with Keogh playing an hour of the match, who missed last week's match due to illness. However, Chris Weale, Scott Murray and Wayne Andrews will miss out with back, foot and knee injuries respectively. |
| March
24, 2007 |
Worley
stays for rest of season |
 |
Doncster
Rovers confirmed yesterday that they have extended the loan of Chelsea's
Harry Worley for the rest of the season. He had been due to go with a
Chelsea team on a tour of America next week, but Chelsea agreed that his
development will be better aided by remaining at Rovers. |
| March
24, 2007 |
Jackson
returns |
 |
Former
Doncaster Rovers striker Justin Jackson has returned to English football
after a time in Australia, and has signed for Conference side Tamworth.
However, he will have to wait for international clearance to come through
before he cam make his debut for the Lambs. An England semi-professional
international, Jackson's previous clubs include Accrington Stanley, Rushden
& Diamonds, Morecambe, Rotherham and Notts County. He made 14 starts for Rovers, scoring 3 goals, between 2001 and 2003. |
| March
24, 2007 |
Man
of the match |
 |
Midfielder
Sean Thornton was the clear winner in the "Man of the Match"
voting for Wednesday's match against Chesterfield. With nine players receiving
nominations, those receiving the most votes were as follows: 1 Sean Thornton (41.38%) 2 Brian Stock (17.24%) 3= Danny Cadamarteri, Harry Worley (10.34%) Thank you to everyone who voted - the next vote will open following this afternoon's home game against Bristol City. |
| March
23, 2007 |
Rovers
keep fingers crossed for Harry |
| |
It
remains uncertain as to whether Doncaster Rovers will keep young Chelsea
defender Harry Worley for a further month - although the inference is
that he probably will stay. Worley's loan appears to expire after Saturday's
game against Bristol City - Rovers seem keen to extend that loan, but
from news reports yesterday it seems that he may return to Chelsea to
go on a "young team tour of America" next week. O'Driscoll has been lining up a defensive replacement should Worley be recalled by Chelsea - but since there appear to have been no players joining Rovers yesterday we presume that infers that Worley will be staying - at least for the moment. The Rovers boss said of the situation: "It was agreed with Chelsea that we'd review the situation. If they thought that him staying here was beneficial and we thought it was too, they would be quite willing for him to miss that tournament. If not he will fly with their party to Dallas after Saturday, which is when his loan ends." "If he goes back then we need a defender and need to be in a position to bring someone in. We have been talking to one or two clubs." |
| March
23, 2007 |
Rovers
Belles fall at the final hurdle |
 |
Doncaster
Rovers Belles' recent disappointing form continued last weekend as they
went down to a 1-0 defeat in the final of the Sheffield & Hallamshire
County Cup, losing the trophy that they had won for the previous four
years. Recent poor form in the league means that Sunday's game away at Fulham becomes a bottom of the table battle. They started the season well, but form has slumped in the second half of the campaign, with manager John Buckley saying: "We had ninety per cent of the play but we are suffering from a serious lack of confidence. It was a sub-standard performance and we just have to pick ourselves up now for the trip to Fulham because it's a game we have to win. If we get a victory there I think we should be safe from relegation with seven games still to play. It went right down to the last match last season so in some sense it will be an improvement but really we haven't done good enough." |
| March
23, 2007 |
Supporters
Club's weekend trip to Weymouth |
| |
There
are still a few places left on the Supporters Club's big away trip to
Weymouth taking in the last scheduled away match of the season at Yeovil.
Following on from last season's successful two-night stay in Weymouth,
the trip will be returning to the same hotel in this popular seaside venue,
and has been extended to three nights to include a hop over the channel
to enjoy an optional full day in Jersey. The trip departs from the Keepmoat (with the usual pick ups en route) at 10.00 on Thursday 26 April, returning from Weymouth at 2.00 pm on Sunday 29 April. On the Friday, the trip to Jersey starts at 9.00 am from the ferry terminal and returns at 6.00 pm, arriving back in Weymouth at 9.30 pm. Return coach transport from the hotel to the Yeovil game is also provided. The all-in price of £180 includes three night's bed, full English breakfast, and evening meal, and all excursions. For those not wanting to go to Jersey, the cost reduces to £160. To book, please contact Paul Mayfield on 01427 880154 (home), 01724 858881 (work), or 07740 453066 (mobile). Those already booked are kindly reminded that payment of any outstanding balance is now due, and the Supporters Club will be grateful if you could make arrangements to pay any money to Paul Mayfield as soon as possible. |
| March
22, 2007 |
Chesterfield
1 Rovers 1 |
| |
Doncaster
Rovers were held to a 1-1 draw at Saltergate last night, with both goals
coming in the first half. Rovers went in front with a 25- yard driven
shot from Brian Stock, but the home side equalised from the penalty spot
after O'Connor fouled Paul Hall in the 40th minute. Gareth Roberts made a welcome return after being out for several matches with a hamstring injury, and put in a good performance for his first match back. Sean O'Driscoll shuffled his pack, leaving Graeme Lee, Sean McDaid and Paul Green on the substitutes bench, recalling Roberts and Sean Thornton. The result keeps Rovers in ninth place in the League One table, four points behind sixth place, but having played more games, meaning the prospects of reaching the play-offs could be remote by the time the weekend's matches have been played. |
| March
22, 2007 |
Watch
England at the Dome! |
| |
See
England play Israel LIVE after Saturday's home match! By popular request, the new Rovers Return at the Dome will be staying open late after Saturday's match against Bristol City to show the Israel vs.. England Euro Qualifier, live and exclusive on Sky TV Plus. Why not come and join the other Rovers' fans enjoying the occasion and start the build up towards Cardiff in their company? With beer at only £2 a pint, it's got to be the place to see the match (which won't be available in the Lakeside Suite, as this doesn't have Sky TV Plus), especially as there are several TVs as well as a giant screen so you're guaranteed a good view in comfort. You can park free at the Dome (including in the small car park at the foot of the steps which lead direct into the Rovers return lobby), so why not park there for the day, and also enjoy a pre-match pint in the same convivial atmosphere, where many of your old friends from Belle Vue now congregate from 12.00 pm onwards? By the time you'd have got out of the Keepmoat car park after the match, you could be sitting with your first pint enjoying the build up to the match! |
| March
22, 2007 |
Sam
extends stay in Bristol |
 |
Sam
Oji, who spent a short time on loan at Doncaster Rovers last season, has
extended his loan stay at Bristol Rovers until mid-April, meaning that
he will be eligible to face Rovers at the Millennium Stadium. The 21-year
old initially joined the Pirates on a one month loan, and has impressed
their first team coach, Paul Trollope, in the matches he has played at
the club. "After making his debut against Boston, Sam had a very good week of training last week and his performance on Saturday against Notts County was very good. For a young lad he talks and organises well, and combined with how quick and strong he is, we're very pleased to have him here. He's been a welcome addition to the squad over his first month, and we're delighted to have him with us for at another month." |
| March
22, 2007 |
Trophy
final car stickers |
 |
Radio Sheffield
will be distributing special "Rovers for Life, not just for Cardiff"
car stickers during the coming week. The BBC Bus will be in the car
park at the Keepmoat Stadium between 11am and 3pm on Saturday (24th
March), and at the following locations next week: |
| March
21, 2007 |
Chesterfield
v Rovers |
| |
Doncaster
Rovers are likely to select from the same squad as was named for the Cheltenham
game for this evening's League One fixture at Chesterfield. Paul Heffernan,
Jason Price and Mark McCammon are all missing due to injury, so on-loan
striker Danny Cadamarteri is set to make his second appearance for the
club, following his "man of the match" appearance on Saturday. Chesterfield will be without injury victims Adam Smith, Alan O'Hare and Jamie Ward as they battle against relegation, with a slump in form recently costing boss Roy McFarland his job. The match probably marks Rovers' last realistic chance of keeping in touch with the play-offs, with the gap between Rovers and sixth placed Blackpool currently being five points, with Rovers having eight games to play - Blackpool also have a game 'in hand', which they will play next Tuesday against bottom club Rotherham United. |
| March
21, 2007 |
Injury
update - Heffernan ready for Cardiff? |
| |
The
injury situation at Rovers looks like making a rapid improvement, with
a welcome update from physio John Dicken revealing of the imminent return
of two important players. Leading scorer Paul Heffernan looks highly likely to be fit for next weekend's match at the Millennium Stadium, whilst Jason Price could even be fit to play against Bristol City on Saturday. With Rovers only having scored one goal in the last five matches, a boost to the Rovers firepower could be crucial if Rovers are to maintain a chance of reaching the play-offs. |
| March
21, 2007 |
York
City 7 Reserves 0 |
 |
Doncaster
Rovers Reserves were thrashed 7-0 by York City in last night's Pontin's
Holidays League match played at KitKat Crescent. Rovers' side mainly comprised
youth team players, with only Barry Richardson, Rob Pacey, Sam Hird, Liam
Green and Jon-Paul Pittman being named from the senior squad. Rovers were
three goals down at the break - conceding all three goals in the last
quarter hour of the first half. They conceded a further four goals after half time, with all goals coming between the 55th and 80th minutes, to complete a sorry night for Rovers, which confirms their position at the bottom of the league table. Rovers: Richardson, Hawksworth, Noble, Pacey, Bowland, Sutton, Hird, L. Green; Hardy, Pittman, Fairhurst Substitutes: Griffiths (for Bowland, 58), McGee (for Sutton, 63), Duffy (for Hardy, 68), Guilliat |
| March
21, 2007 |
Coach
travel to Cardiff |
| |
The
Supporters Club are still accepting bookings for coach travel to the Millennium
Stadium on 1st April. Tickets will be on sale from Main Reception at the
Keepmoat Stadium between 10am and 2pm today and Friday, and at the Park
Hotel from Thursday until next Wednesday between the hours of 6.15pm and
9pm (until 11pm on Friday). At the last count, the various branches of the Supporters Club are taking 34 coaches to Cardiff. |
| March
21, 2007 |
Rovers
on the telly |
| |
Saturday's
home game against Bristol City is to be the main match on ITV's "The
Championship" programme this weekend, with extended highlights being
shown. Let's hope for a good performance and a great atmosphere on Saturday
for Rovers' last match before the trip to Cardiff! |
| March
20, 2007 |
Debut-boy
wins the vote |
 |
Despite
only signing for the club 24 hours before the match, on-loan striker Danny
Cadamateri was voted as your "Man of the Match" for his performance
in the game against Cheltenham Town on Saturday. A total of eight players
received nominations, with the leading recipients being: 1 Danny Cadamateri (55.22%) 2 James Coppinger (17.91%) 3 James O'Connor (8.96%) Thank you to everyone who took part in the voting. The next vote will open following tomorrow evening's game at Chesterfield. |
| March
20, 2007 |
The
Budtz stops here! |
 |
Well,
not quite, but the headline was too good to miss! Rovers goalkeeper Jan Budtz has extended his loan spell at promotion-chasing Wolverhampton Wanderers until the end of April, as he continues to act as deputy to first choice keeper Matt Murray. The two other stoppers on Wolves' books, Michael Oakes and Carl Ikeme, are continuing slow recoveries from injuries. Budtz made his first team debut on Saturday in the 2-2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday, but with no Championship matches this weekend, Wolves boss Mick McCarthy is hoping that Murray will recover in time for their next match. With Neil Sullivan's loan at Rovers due to run out before the end of the season, Rovers will be hoping that Ben Smith makes a speedy recovery from his knee surgery, as the only other goalkeeping cover at the club is goalkeeping coach Barry Richardson. |
| March
20, 2007 |
Rovers
recall defender |
 |
Doncaster
Rovers have recalled defender Liam Green from Guiseley, and he will go
into the reserves side to play against York City this evening (kick-off
7pm). Green has been on loan at Guiseley since late December. |
| March
19, 2007 |
Boss
- "Lack of support was disappointing" |
| |
Rovers
boss Sean O'Driscoll criticised Rovers' lowest crowd at the Keepmoat Stadium
for their lack of support at Saturday's game, citing it as a contributory
factor to their disappointing defeat at the hands of Cheltenham Town. He said: "It was obviously a disappointing result for us. It was a difficult game from start to finish. The incidents that happened frustrated everybody. The lack of support was disappointing. "They played 4-5-1 and made it really difficult for us. Because we lacked a physical presence due to injuries we had to be patient on the ball and try and move it around. But as soon as we do that we get a bit of negativity from the crowd which then impacts on the players who start doing the wrong things and it becomes a vicious circle." However, the Rovers boss continued: "I thought that we were excellent in the second half and everyone showed a great deal of character. I thought that the players were brave and took responsibility." |
| March
19, 2007 |
Rovers
to report the ref |
| |
After
viewing the video from Saturday's game against Cheltenham, Doncaster Rovers
are going to make exerpts to make a case to Keith Hackett, the "referee's
supremo" over Mr Ilderton's handling of the game. Specific incidents
include the penalty appeal when Coppinger was bundled over (and booked),
and his failure to issue a red card to Caines when, as the last man, he
dragged Forte back. Caines was issued a yellow card in that instance,
but as the "last man" under the rules, should have been issued
with a red card. |
| March
19, 2007 |
Chesterfield
v Rovers information |
| |
Wednesday's away
game at Chesterfield (Wednesday, 21st March) is pay on the day - there
are no tickets available in advance. |
| March
19, 2007 |
Maloney
named for regional team |
 |
Former
Rovers utlity player Jonathan Maloney has been named in the 2006 MSCAA/Adidas
NCAA Division II Men's Soccer All-South Region Team for his performances
for US club Sophomore, where he is currently studying. Maloney was named
as the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year, scoring a record 22 goals,
which put him in fourth place in the goal-scoring rankings. He was also
named in the "Daktronics All-South Region" team, and won their
equivalent of "player of the week" three times during 2006. Maloney left England in the summer of 2005 after being released by York City - who he joined after leaving Rovers. He is on a four-year all-expenses scholarship to Sophomore, Alabama. |
| March
17, 2007 |
Rovers
0 Cheltenham 2 |
| |
A
woeful performance by Doncaster Rovers saw them slump to a home defeat
against relegation threatened Cheltenham - but the visitors were never
seroiusly threatened as Rovers struggled to string sequences of passes
together, and some hesitant occasions in defence could have made the score
much worse. The debut of Danny Cadamateri was perhaps the shining light
of the day - if anyone was going to score, it looked likely to be him,
toiling away up front with support from wingers James Coppinger and Jonathan
Forte. The day was perhaps summed up with James Coppigner being unlucky
to be denied a penalty when he was bundled to the ground in the 53rd minute
- not only that, but the referee, who made a number of dubious decisions,
booked Coppinger for diving. It took Rovers until the 93rd minute to land
a shot on target, with Paul Green firing in a low shot from 30 yards,
but unfortunatley it went straight at the goalkeeper, who gathered the
ball with ease. The defeat leaves Rovers five points behind the play-offs - if they don't work out how to solve their goal-drought, the return of Paul Heffernan and Jason Price may come too late to save their play-off chances. |
| March
18, 2007 |
Goals
review |
 |
Starting
in the Championship, Michael McIndoe scored Wolverhampton Wanderers' equaliser
yesterday against Sheffield Wednesday - with a header, to make the score
1-1. A further goal for each side saw the game at Hillsbrough finish 2-2.
Another feature of the game was the first team debut of Jan Budtz for
Wolves - he came on as a half time substitute after first choice Matt
Murray, who had been doubtful all week after being injured in their previous
match, proved not to be fit, despite the fact that he declared himself
fit to play on Friday. Despite Budtz's first touch being to pick the ball out of the net, conceding a goal within a minute of coming onto the pitch, Mick McCarthy, the Wolves manager, said: "Jan came on and the first touch of the ball he got was when he picked it out of the net. But soon after that he made a great save for us. He did well." In League Two, Kevin McIntyre scored a last minute equaliser from the penalty spot for Macclesfield in a 1-1 draw at Bury, and Richie Barker scored twice, one a penalty, for leaders Hartlepool United in their 3-3 draw at Stockport. Dropping into the non-league scene, Gary Brabin was on target again for Burscough in their victory over Hednesford Town, with the three points keeping them nicely in contention in third place for promotion from the UniBond Premier Division. Ossett Town also picked up a valuable win at relegation haunted Radcliffe Borough, with a 2-0 win - ex-Rover Andy Hayward scoring their second goal. Lastly, north of the border, Richard Offiong was sent off in the 37th minute for Hamilton, although his teammates still went on to register a 2-0 win at Partick Thistle. Colin Cramb scored a dramatic winner six minutes from time for Stirling Albion as they defeated top of the table Morton - a victory that leaves Stirling only apoint behind the leaders. |
| March
18, 2007 |
Rufus
attacker found guilty |
 |
A
woman was found guilty of smashing a glass bottle over the head of ex-Rovers
defender Rufus Brevett in Plymouth Crown Court this week. Claire Patton,
21, attacked Brevett in a Plymouth pub last year, which left him with
a half-inch gash in his head, which has left a scar above one eye, with
the judge saying: "You used a bottle as a weapon and threw it quite
deliberately at this complainant. He has been left with a scar above his
eye. It is likely he will be scarred for life. It was a serious incident
of nightclub violence." Patton was sentenced to 150 hours of community service and has to pay £400 towards the prosecution's costs. |
| March
17, 2007 |
Rovers
v Cheltenham |
| |
Doncaster
Rovers look set to give new loan striker Danny Cadamarteri his debut this
afternoon after signing on a month's loan yesterday from from Leicester
City. With Rovers missing Jason Price, Paul Heffernan and Mark McCammon,
and a shot-shy Rovers attack having scored just one goal in the last four
games, Sean O'Driscoll will be hoping that Cadamateri's addition will
provide a boost to Rovers' continuing hopes of reaching the play-offs.
Swansea's victory last night means that that elusive sixth place is out
of Rovers' grasp this afternoon, but victory would keep the hopes of reaching
the play-offs alive. Striker Bruce Dyer is hoping to shake off a knock to keep his place this afternoon, but definitely missing will be on-loan defender Alan Wright, who has ended his loan at Rovers to join Nottingham Forest. Adam Lockwood is expected to recover from a back injury sufficiently to claim his place in central defence, but Steve Roberts and Gareth Roberts continue to be absent today. Cheltenham are boosted by the return of Jerry Gill, who has missed the last two matches with a calf injury, with the match marking boss John Ward's 500th managerial game. |
| March
17, 2007 |
No
park and ride |
| |
There will be no "Park and Ride" from Town Moor Avenue to the Keepmoat Stadium for this afternoon's match. The statement issued on the Rovers' official site, has given no reason for this. |
| March
17, 2007 |
Fly
to Cardiff! |
| |
Here
is an opportunity to travel in style to the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final
in Cardiff on 1st April. We've been informed of the following package
that is available - if you are interested, please contact Pete Lynch Williams
at team@flapsinternational.net of by phone on 07976 765390. "The Citation 2 private has a capacity of eight passengers and could perform the return journey in a little under an hour in each direction. With sumptuous leather seating, refreshments (including champagne for the return trip!) and in-flight entertainment, our Citation 2 provides the ultimate luxury and would make a memorable occasion even more glorious!" "The price would be a DRFC special at just £655:00 per head for a full complement of eight so you could avoid all the motorway and rail journey hassle – arriving in consummate style. We can’t sell individual seats – you’d have to make a block booking but the aircraft is available as I write this so if there’s interest, please let me know before it becomes booked." |
| March
17, 2007 |
Blayney
on international stand-by |
 |
Former
Doncaster Rovers goalkeeper Alan Blayney has been placed on standby for
Northern Ireland's Euro 2008 qualifying matches against Liechenstein and
Sweden later this month, despite not having played much first team football
recently. Blayney earned his first full cap for his country during Northern
Ireland's tour of the USA last summer. |
| March
16, 2007 |
Danny
signs on |
| |
Striker
Danny Cadermateri has signed for Doncaster Rovers on one month's loan
from Leicester City, and goes straight into the squad for tomorrow afternoon's
home game against Cheltenham Town. |
| March
16, 2007 |
Danny
set to join Rovers |
| |
Doncaster
Rovers are set to sign Leicester City striker Danny Cadamateri on loan
this afternoon in a bid to strengthen their injury-hit strike force. Cadamateri
joined Leicester in December on a contract until the end of the season,
and also names Bradford City, Leeds United and Sheffield United amongst
his past clubs. He also made two appearances for Grays Athletic in the
Conference earlier in the season after completing a six-month drugs ban. Cadamateri is now 27 years old, and has so far not realised the potential shown when he joined Everton as a 17-year old. As long as all parties agree this afternoon, he will join for a period of one month. |
| March
16, 2007 |
Wright
goes back |
 |
On-loan
left back Alan Wright has returned to Sheffield United upon the completion
of his month's loan at Rovers. With the return to fitness of Sean McDaid,
and the imminent return of Gareth Roberts, he was not guaranteed a first
team place. No sooner had Wright returned to Bramall Lane than he was
on his way out - to League One promotion candidates Nottingham Forest,
who have signed him on loan until the end of the season. |
| March
16, 2007 |
Any
London-based Rovers fans going to Cardiff? |
| |
We
have received a note from Dave Dennis to ask if we know of any Rovers
fans based in North London who would be interested in sharing a coach
to the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final in Cardiff. The viability of hiring
a coach obviously depends on numbers - if you are interested, please email
him at jdejdennis.t21@btinternet.com as soon as possible. |
| March
16, 2007 |
Luton
sack Newell |
 |
Luton
Town have sacked their controversial manager Mike Newell following their
defeat against Hull City on Tuesday, which meant the club dropped into
the relegation places in the Championship. Perhaps unwisely, Newell criticised the Luton board after the game, saying that their poor season was due to them having to sell their best players. Newell said: "The reason we're in this position is because we've sold our best players. Where's the £9m gone? Give that to me and I'll get five experienced players in, I'll pay them fortunes and we'll get ourselves out of it. It takes three or four years to build a reputation as a decent manager and three months to lose that reputation. But if you take the four best players out of any team it will hurt them." Newell played 19 games for Rovers in the 1999/2000 season, scoring three goals, before leaving to join Blackpool. |
| March
16, 2007 |
O'Driscoll
still aims for play-offs |
| |
Despite
Rovers' disappointing defeat at Oldham Athletic on Sunday, Rovers boss
Sean O'Driscoll has still not given up hope of reaching the League One
play-offs. His squad has been ravaged by injury, but is still in with
a real chance of making the play-offs, being only two points behind sixth
place, and tomorrow's home game against struggling Cheltenham is key to
maintaining the challenge. Sean said: "Every game we've had this season is a must win game and this is no different. We've had a fortnight of mixed experiences. We did very well at Forest but probably didn't play as well as we could in the other games. Three away games is a tall order at this stage of the season but we came through it alright - it was just disappointing to pick up more injuries." He continued: "To lose Paul, Mark and Jason in quick succession is very frustrating but it's part and parcel of football. We've looked around to see if we can bring someone in but at this stage of the season, with so much money riding on promotion to the Premiership, people are reluctant to let players out. It presents an opportunity for the rest of the squad." "From our point of view we just concentrate on winning the next game. It'll remain tight for the next few games but this league is going to throw up a few more surprises before the end of the season." |
| March
16, 2007 |
Final
tickets |
| |
The
Keepmoat Stadium are now reporting that just over 17,000 tickets have
been sold for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final against Bristol Rovers,
meaning they still have approximately 4,000 remaining for sale. With the
news that Bristol Rovers sold out their allocation of 32,500 within days
of going on sale, they have been allocated an extra 8,000 tickets, which
means that we cannot be allocated any more than the 21,000 originally
allocated. |